estes



2 S.heetsSheet 2. E. B. ESTES.

(No Model.)

WARDROBE.

Patented Nov. 17, 1385.

WITNESSES:

l NVE NTO R By his .flttorneys, M, QZW

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIHU B. ESTES, OF FLATBUSH, YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DENSLOW D.HAMLIN, OF SAME PLACE.

WARDROBE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,830 dated November17, 1885.

, Application filedFebrnary 11, 1885. Serial No.155,615

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIHU B. Es'rEs, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Flatbush, Kings oountyg New York, have invented certainImprovements in Wardrobes, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to that class of wardrobes which are capable ofbeing folded into a less compass or space than that which they occupywhen in use; and the objects of my invention are to provide, first, avery cheap and light wardrobe; second, a wardrobe that may be suspendedfrom the wall, and which has its lower and majorportion composed ofdrapery; third, a wardrobe that when folded forms a small compact casecapable of inclosing the curtains or drapery; and, fourth, a wardrobeconstructed with a folding box-like canopy, and having the curtainsdepending from said canopy mounted to slide on rods or wires. I attain"these objects in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a front View of my wardrobe, showing the dependingcurtains or drapery drawn back at the front to show the interior. Fig. 2is'a vertical section in the plane of line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3is alsoasection on line2 2 in Fig. l, but showing the wardrobe folded up. Fig.4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken in the plane of line 4 4 inFig. 1, looking up, but on a much larger scale than Fig. 1. Fig. 5illustrates a modification.

My wardrobe is not designed to rest on the fioor, but to be suspended onthe wall,usually at about the height of the top of the ordinarywardrobe. The upper part of the wardrobe is constructed of wood in themain, and from this part are suspended curtains or drapery of somesuitable fabric, which usually extends down to or nearly to the floor.Thus by dispensing with the wooden lower portion of a wardrobe,necessary where the wardrobe rests on the floor, I am enabled to providea capacious wardrobe that is capable of being packed into a very smallcompass when not in use, the curtains being adapted to fold inside ofthe box-like upper portion, if desired.

A represents a back board, by which the wardrobe is suspended from thewall, which is represented by X in Fig. 2. This back board I usuallyprovide with two loops, a a,

(No model.)

or some equivalent device, to form means for suspending the wardrobe.

B is a projecting part, in the nature of a shelf, secured rigidly to A.This shelf forms a part of the wardrobe top when the wardrobe is in use.4 O is a cover hinged to the free edge of B at b, and provided with apendent drop-cornice, c. This cover, together with B, forms thecanopy-like top of the wardrobe when the latter is in use.

D D are two brackets, hinged to plates d d on the back board, A, andconstructed to stand out under and support the cover 0 when the wardrobeisin use. These brackets are arranged at the opposite ends of the cover0, and preferably stand against the inner faces of the pendent cornice cat the ends of O.

E E are folding hooks for the clothing. These are pivoted in the platesat d at top and bottom, so as to be folded in flat between said plates.One of these hooks is shown folded back flat in Fig. 1. "Such foldinghooks are common, and I do not claim them, broadly.

F F are the curtains or drapery, which are secured at their upper endsto the wooden'portion of a wardrobe, and extend down to or nearly to thefloor. back curtain, F, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2; but this is notessential. It may be as long as the others; or, if desired, this backcurtain, F, may be omitted entirely, as the wardrobe must of necessitysit close to the wall, and dust cannot well enter at the back. Thiscurtain is secured at its top to the back board or the plate (I, and atits edges to the curtains F. The curtains F are secured at their upperends to the inner faces of the drop-cornice c at the I usuallyabbreviate the ends of 0, thus forming the inclosing'sides of 9ov thewardrobe, and those portions of said ourtains that extend around andform the front of the wardrobe I usually mount, respectively, oncarrying wires or rods 6 e, fixed to the inner face of cover 0 near itsfront edge, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. These wires are arranged inparallel planes, and so as to overlap or pass each other, which enablesthe curtains F to be drawn together so as to overlap a little, thebetter to exclude dust.

g g are cords which pass through holes in the end portion of thedrop-cornice a, the ends where they are mounted on the wires 6, andserve to operate the curtainsthat is to say,

by pulling on one end of the cord the curtain is drawn out, and bypulling on the other end it is drawn back, as will be well understood.

The holes for the passage of the cords should be as nearly as possiblein line with the wires, in order to provide a direct draft.

Fig. 3 shows my improved wardrobe folded up for packing ortransportation. To effect this, I first fold the hanging hooks E downfiat and then fold the two brackets D down (in toward each other) flaton said hooks. gather all the drapery or curtains up in a compact rollunder the cover 0, and fold this latter down to the position shown in.Fig. 3, where it maybe secured by a simple .hook, h. The {drapery willnow be inclosed within the boxlike receptacle formed by the cover (landits cornice c, the shelf B, and the back board, A.

I :have omitted the folded drapery from Fig. 3, as its introductionwould only serve to obscure the drawing. The plates d and folding hooksare not essential. I-may attach short hooks to the back board, A, in anyway, and binge the brackets D to the edges of cleats, which are mountedon the back board, A, and project out about as far as shelf B. With thisconstruction the brackets may fold down on the non-folding hooks.Thisarrangement is shown in Fig. 5, where d is the cleat to which thebracket is hinged. This view shows the modified construction applied toone corner of Fig. 4. The drapery need not be folded in the box-likereceptacle seen in Fig. 3. It might be suspended from the upper portionor canopy of the Wardrobe by hooks and rings in a well-known way, and beremoved and folded separately when the wardrobe is to be folded up. Iprefer to mount the curtain to slide on wires, as described;but this isnot essential to my invention.

It will be seen that as the main inclosing portion of my wardrobe iscomposed of light drapery, it will as a whole be very light and easilyput up and taken down, and the compact form into which it folds will bea great convenience to those who are moving about from place to place.That portion of the back It is .mainly useful as I then to my wardrobeby the user, the upper portion, comprising the back board andthe partsfixed thereto, and the hinged cover 0, and with or without the hooks E,may be made and sold separately as an independent article ofmanufacture.

I am aware that it has been proposed to construct a canopy of wood toform the top of a wardrobe, the lower part of the wardrobe being formedof drapery suspended from and sliding on wires arranged similar to thewires herein shown, and that such canopy, which is designed to besuspendedfrom hooks in the wall, has had a shelf arranged under it andconnected rigidly to it. This construction differs materially from mine,and I do not claim it. My wardrobe is constructed of parts hingedtogether and adapted to be folded up so as to forma close box, and thisis not the case with the wardrobe I havedescribed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. As an improved article ofmanufacture, the combination of the back board provided with a shelf, B,the hinged supporting-brackets D D, and the cover 0, hinged toB andprovided with a drop-cornice, c, all to form the upper portion of asuspended wardrobe, as

set forth.

2. The combination, to form a suspended folding wardrobe, of the backboard provided with hooks, and the shelf B, the hingedsupporting-brackets D, the cover 0, hinged to B and provided with adrop-cornice, 0, and the curtains, all constructed and arranged tooperate substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the back board provided with shelf B and hooks,the hinged supporting-brackets D, the cover 0, hinged to B and providedwith adrop-cornice, c, and wires 0 for the curtains, and the curtains F,suspended at the front from wires 6 and provided with operating-cords g,substantially as shown.

4. The combination of the back board, A, provided with the plates d d,folding hooks E, and shelf B, thehinged brackets D D, arranged as shown,the hinged cover 0, provided with a drop-cornice, c, and the curtains,arranged as shown.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ELIHU B. ESTES. Witnesses:

HENRY GONNETT, ARTHUR G. FRASER.

